Emergency Contraception: Getting the Facts Straight

By: Ali Corazza, Staff Writer

Last week, a federal judge agreed to lift age restrictions on emergency contraception after medical and scientific research have proven that it is safe and effective in preventing unplanned pregnancy.

Prior restrictions created confusing by requiring users to obtain a prescription or to be a certain age. These restrictions were time consuming, and time is a critical factor in preventing pregnancy. Emergency contraception, or the morning after pill, is affective for up to 6 days after having unprotected sex. Of course, it is more effective the sooner you take it.

Contrary to popular belief, emergency contraception is perfectly safe for women of all ages, including teens. Only so much can be done to try to prevent underage teens from engaging in intercourse, but if they don’t listen, making the morning after pill available to them over the counter is the least that can be done. Options for unplanned pregnancy should be available to anyone.

Let’s face it, condoms break, contraceptives fail, and nonconsensual sex occurs. So what’s next? Along with being a huge debate amongst our country, abortion can be scary. Emergency contraceptives can prevent pregnancy before it even happens, NOT after.

Isn’t emergency contraceptive also called the “abortion pill”? WRONG! The so called “abortion pill” is a completely different medication. Mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone to stop pregnancy after it has already happened, where as the morning after pill only postpones ovulation.

Lifting these restrictions will have very positive results on our society. Abortion rates will decrease, as will teen pregnancy. We must continue to educate women of all ages on the importance of safe sex, but we must also educate women and girls on what do you if those methods fail.

Get your facts straight!

View From the Voice: Keep Calm in the Face of Tragedy

By: The Voice Staff

The nation has, yet again, suffered the loss of innocent lives. The bombings during the Boston Marathon have shaken the city as well as the country to its core, and the public is being informed of breaking news with every passing minute. Like with the Sandy Hook tragedy and the Aurora shootings, the boundaries between what are facts and what is speculation are somewhat opaque.

NBCnews.com reports that the FBI has already received 2,000 tips as of mid-day on April 16 about the Marathon Day attack. Many people have also submitted pictures and videos from around the areas that were targeted for further research.  However, there still seems to be no definitive answers on who has taken three people’s lives and injured at least 176 more. From the ashes of this tragedy, however, many lessons can be learned.

First and foremost, American citizens should remain calm. The deaths of Krystle Campbell of Arlington, Mass. and Matt Richard of Dorchester, Mass. are enough to outrage any person, especially at their age. However, the country must maintain composure and not jump to conclusions. According to International Business Times, Erik Rush, a prominent American journalist and Fox News contributor, posted Monday on his Twitter “Everybody do the National Security Ankle Grab! Let’s bring more Saudis in without screening Them! C’mon! #bostonmarathon.”

This type of reaction may be understandable to some, but it is in no way acceptable conduct. Already, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has condemned the attacks “criminal” and “sinful”, according the Washington Post.  Additionally, Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations stated on Monday that "American Muslims, like Americans of all backgrounds, condemn in the strongest possible terms today's cowardly bomb attack on participants and spectators of the Boston Marathon."

In fact, one of the first people suspected was a Saudi student who was also injured in the attacks. The almost immediate suspicion and condemnation of Muslim guilt in this attack only exacerbates current Islamaphobia in this country. Accusations such as this are not grounded in fact, and do nothing but further splinter American efforts to find the real perpetrator.

Instead, America should focus on celebrating the heroes of this story.  As previously stated, one small way people are helping is by reporting tips to the FBI. People like firefighter James Ploude and former New England Patriot Joe Abruzzi were photographed carrying victims to the first responders and medics on scene.

There are also the people of Boston who opened their homes, beds, transportation, and all manner of material possessions to those who could not return to their hotels or residences. The New York Daily News reports that along with places to stay and hot meals, citizens have been lining up at Boston General Hospital to donate blood for the injured. 

The scenes and the injuries accrued by innocent eyewitnesses were described as being similar to a war-zone. No doubt this type of spontaneous attack will leave emotion, mental, and physical scars on the city of Boston as well as those poor victims involved. We at The Voice would like to praise the brave, good-hearted people of Boston and all others for their aid and send our best wishes to those affected. We believe that it is important to remember the traits that make this country great, like compassion and resilience, in times of great loss. Lastly, we hope that the media and the public will both be respectful and keep all things in perspective.

April 11, 2013

View From the Voice: NCAA Not Controlling Actions Adequately

Taking Responsibilty for Our Financial Futures

Rape Culture: Is Society Sending the Wrong Message?

Understanding Gun Laws

The Arts In Danger

The Arts In Danger

By: Michael Zielinskie, Staff Writer

Currently, I am reading a book. This simple phrase may seem foreign now because of advances in technology.  Now, possessing a book could mean that you have the product of a dead tree in your hands, square with neat language laid out on the inside. Reading now takes place in several mediums, such as on a tablet, smartphone, or laptop computer. Libraries are even available for the masses at the press or click of a button, replacing thousands of books electronically. It is the start of an idea that is bordering on the insane.

Our society is on the verge of replacing all written and printed text. This is understandable when we consider the conveniences and incentives that technology has granted us. Why would people rush to the library in the hopes of retrieving the book you want to borrow when it could just as easily be found on Amazon? Do people want to deal with a librarian disgruntled at the fact that technology has left society ignorant of how the Dewey Decimal System works? Why would someone go to the store and pay twenty-five dollars for a new hardback only to eventually sell it at a yard sale for a dollar?

Well, the undeniable truth is that within a couple years, the modern world will no long even question why people choose electronic over traditional books. Pretty soon every new book will be available online, and when the copyrights for the old books run out they will be available on there as well. In some ways, the act of downloading a book is saving trees and energy used for the process of making books makes sense. In other ways, the replacement of written literature is scary. It is terrifying to think of what will be next. The immense music industry almost brought to its knees from mp3 piracy is a glaring example of what a brutal blow technology and the Internet can deal to the arts. To me it seems like art and literature are not far from being crippled by technology.

To understand just how fast technology is moving we must look back to the first programmable computer, which was invented seventy years ago in 1943.  This computer called “ENIAC” took up approximately 1800 square feet. Today, a computer fits in the palm of your hand in the form of a smartphone. In seventy years,  we went from 1800 square feet to a couple inches. Just imagine the kind of exponential growth that will occur in the next few decades. So, if you think that technology will not replace the arts, talk to me in thirty years and I will show you a computer program that can create copies of Da Vinci’s work faster than in takes you to brew a pot of coffee today. I just hope I am not around when the majority of our Science Fiction Novels become history books only available via the web. 

Understanding Gun Laws

By: Brandon Belusko, Contributing Writer

If the students of Bloomsburg University took a quiz on gun law would the majority pass? According to the New York Times, most Americans do not fully understand the laws that govern our freedom to own firearms. The questions asked in a poll conducted by the Benenson Strategy Group for the Democratic National Committee reveals that 50 percent of Americans favor stricter enforcements of laws that do not exist. For example, the poll provided by the New York Times states that 48 percent of the people who support stricter enforcement of current laws believe that private sales or gun show purchases do not require background checks.

To the contrary, Pennsylvania, along with others, does not require background checks for rifles privately purchased. The same article from the New York Times goes on to explain that most Americans do not realize such flaws within the laws such as 247 people on the Government Accountability Office’s terrorist watch list passed the background check required to purchase a firearm legally. Thirty-three percent of the Americans who took the poll also believe that the government is notified when people purchase a large amount of ammunition in a short time, although this is not the case.

Furthermore 42 percent of the people do not know if it is legal or not to purchase ammunition over the Internet. This may not be as disconcerting as some of the flaws mentioned above. The system of purchasing ammunition online is not a free-for-all because a scan of the customers I.D. must be sent before any purchase can be made. This is in place to prove that the customer is at least 21 years of age. This also puts the I.D. on record. This can be seen on every law abiding firearms and ammunition websites, such as aimsurplus.com.

Perhaps a remedy to this lack of knowledge of the federal, state and local gun laws can be borrowed from other government programs. For example, a hunting license must be acquired before you go chasing Bambi in the woods. This requires courses concerning laws, safety and proper conduct with a gun. A system of education should be put in place to educate people of laws, safety and etiquette regarding firearms. This type of program whether online or in a classroom type setting would take some pressure off of the honest, law abiding gun owners who are being punished for the terrible acts of a fraction of a percent of people who own guns.

People fear things that they do not understand especially when the media tends to portray things in the most slanted and dramatic sense in order to provide a good story. This is why education will put everyone either for or against firearms on a level playing field which will allow a compromise to be made ending the issue, and allowing the government to focus on real problems.